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Laundry of Stephanus, Pompeii

Location: Regio I, Insula 6
Area: 361 square meters. meters
Rooms: 12

The Fullonica of Stephanus, archaeologically designated as I.6.7 (Regio I, Insula 6, Entrance 7), is one of the most complete and well-preserved ancient Roman fulleries (laundries and textile processing workshops) in Pompeii, Italy. Located on the south side of Via dell'Abbondanza, a bustling main thoroughfare in the city's eastern sector, this establishment exemplifies the industrial and commercial aspects of daily life in a prosperous Roman town. The name derives from electoral graffiti on the façade, such as "Stephanus rog(at)" (Stephanus requests [your vote]), though it remains unclear if Stephanus was the owner, manager, or a political supporter; some interpretations suggest he may have been a fuller (fuller or cloth processor) himself. Functioning as both a laundry for cleaning garments and a fullonica for treating new fabrics, it highlights the Romans' emphasis on textile maintenance, particularly for white tunics symbolizing status and cleanliness. Buried under volcanic ash during the 79 AD eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the site offers a snapshot of Roman economic practices, including the use of urine as a cleaning agent, which was so integral that Emperor Vespasian taxed it, famously quipping "Pecunia non olet" (Money doesn't smell).

Historical Context and Excavation

Pompeii's textile industry was robust, with at least 18 fullonicae identified for washing and finishing fabrics, alongside workshops for wool processing, spinning, weaving, and dyeing. The Fullonica of Stephanus originated from the refurbishment of a preexisting atrium house, likely in the 1st century AD, adapting domestic space for industrial use—a common practice in Pompeii where production was often embedded in household settings. This reflects the city's economic vibrancy as a medium-sized Roman town, where fulleries served both local residents and possibly exported goods. The workshop's operations would have involved a mix of slaves, freedmen, and family members, underscoring social hierarchies in labor.
Excavations along Via dell'Abbondanza uncovered the fullonica between 1912 and 1914, revealing its intact state and providing key insights into Roman industrial archaeology. During the digs, a skeleton was found near the entrance vestibule, clutching a hoard of gold, silver, and bronze coins totaling 1,089.5 sesterces (equivalent to over 10,000 euros today), possibly belonging to Stephanus or a looter caught in the eruption. The site's preservation was aided by the volcanic material, and post-excavation studies have focused on its integration into the urban fabric, with recent analyses emphasizing its domestic-industrial hybrid nature.

Architecture and Layout

Adapted from an earlier atrium house, the fullonica spans a medium-sized footprint, with the ground floor dedicated to work areas and the upper floor for living quarters and drying terraces. The wide entrance from Via dell'Abbondanza facilitated customer access for dropping off and collecting garments, flanked by electoral graffiti endorsing candidates like Holconius Priscus. Inside, a vestibule leads to a central atrium modified for industrial use: the impluvium (rainwater basin) was raised with low walls to serve as a washing tank, possibly for delicate fabrics, and surrounded by workspaces.
The layout divides into front and rear zones, creating a spatial hierarchy. The front shop area, to the left of the entrance, housed finishing tasks, including a large wooden pressing machine (torcular) for ironing and stretching fabrics. The atrium connects to side rooms, some decorated with frescoes, and leads to a rear garden with a small peristyle (colonnaded courtyard) repurposed for core operations: five fulling stalls for initial soaping and trampling, and three large interconnected masonry rinsing basins fed by a continuous water supply from the urban aqueduct. Elevated walkways and staircases allowed workers to navigate around the basins without wetting their feet. A kitchen in the rear, complete with ancient dishes and pans, suggests on-site living, while a staircase accesses the upper terrace—the only intact roof level in Pompeii—used for drying and bleaching under sun and wind. The front door was secured with a chain lock, and a hinged side door was found open during the eruption.

Laundering Process

The fullonica handled both new fabric finishing (removing impurities from weaving) and garment cleaning, involving a multi-stage process that combined physical labor with chemical treatments. Workers, often standing in stalls, trampled cloths in a mixture of water, alkaline substances like soda, and urine (human or animal, with camel urine imported for potency) to degrease and soften. Urine was collected via public urinals or amphorae embedded in streets. After soaping, fabrics were rinsed in the basins with flowing water to remove residues. Finishing included drying on terraces, carding with porcupine spines to raise the nap, shearing for smoothness, sulphuring (fumigation for whitening), and pressing in the torcular to stretch and brighten. White fabrics received extra treatments with clay (imported from Aegean islands) or pumice, while dyed ones were sulphurated twice. This labor-intensive workflow, accommodating around seven workers (five in stalls, two at basins), highlighted task specialization: stall work was grueling and low-status, while finishing required skill, fostering hierarchical communication within the intimate household setting.

Decorations and Frescoes

While primarily functional, the fullonica retained decorative elements from its domestic origins. Two rooms off the atrium feature Third Style frescoes with geometric patterns, birds (such as peacocks), plants, and animals on classic Pompeian red backgrounds, black dadoes, and white upper zones. These motifs, visible in preserved sections of the west and east walls, added aesthetic appeal to the workspace, blending utility with Roman artistic tastes.

Artifacts

Key finds include the skeleton with its coin hoard, electoral inscriptions (e.g., CIL IV 7164: "Fullones universi rog(ant)"—All fullers request [your vote]), and remnants of the wooden torcular and tools like brushes and shears. The kitchen yielded ancient dishes and pans, while the site's overall assemblage—pottery, textiles, and household items—indicates women's presence, suggesting family involvement. No major artistic treasures were reported, but the graffiti provides social context.

Significance

As one of Pompeii's 11 identified fullonicae, the Fullonica of Stephanus illustrates the integration of industry into domestic life, contrasting with larger, more anonymous workshops in cities like Ostia. Its medium scale and family-based operations reveal intimate social dynamics, where spatial layout influenced hierarchies and worker identities. The site underscores Roman innovations in hygiene and economy, including urine taxation, and contributes to understanding urban culture in early imperial Italy. Today, part of the UNESCO-listed Pompeii Archaeological Park, it attracts visitors for its vivid depiction of ancient labor, with reconstructions and photos enhancing educational value.